Style & Beauty, Shop, Places For Retail Therapy, Style, fashion, Women of Influence Latest, giftguide, Apple News,
Check Out the Shawls Making a Statement in Hawaii
By IJfke RidgleyBy IJfke Ridgley|July 6, 2023|Style & Beauty, Shop, Places For Retail Therapy, Style, fashion, Women of Influence Latest, giftguide, Apple News,
As one of the islands’ go-to wedding dress designers, Jules Bly (julesbly.com) made a name for herself with beautiful bespoke creations. Her clients brought her back and forth to Hawai‘i from her native New Zealand for years before she finally called the islands home in 2021. Now she’s introducing her new line of silk- and linen-fiber shawls.
PHOTO BY IJFKE RIDGLEY
Why make the switch from wedding dresses to shawls? A friend suggested I make her a shawl, so I began looking through beautiful silks I had collected from around the world. I then sourced some organic, carbon-neutral linen from Belgium and discovered how much I love working with linen!
Are you enjoying this new design outlet? I really love working with color and pattern. After 30 years of predominantly white and cream, it has been so much fun mixing colors.
Where do you find inspiration? In my travels around the world, whether it be a light fixture on the outside of a Spanish palace, an artwork at the Musée d’Orsay or a beautiful flower I see on a sunrise hike up Halekoa Ridge, inspiration is everywhere.
How can shawls be used? They can be worn just about everywhere: for special events like the opera or theater, poolside or at the beach, or for a romantic evening under the stars. As my shawls are extremely light, fold small and are easy to pack, they are a travel essential, and as the high-quality fiber is natural and organic, it is also perfect for breastfeeding mothers.
Sustainability is important to you. How do you design with this ethos in mind? My focus is to educate people on the dangers of garments made of synthetic fabrics—the root cause of microfiber pollution. My shawls are finely crafted from natural silk fiber and natural linen fiber.